Free job postings offered to on-campus employers

June 22, 2004

KALAMAZOO--The BroncoJOBS Web site at Western Michigan University,
<www.broncojobs.wmich.edu>,
is a convenient way for offices across campus to advertise part-time
student positions. Offices that regularly use this Career and
Student Employment Services site are able to reach large numbers
of potential student workers--year round and at no cost.

George Eskro, CSES associate director for student development,
says now is a good time for WMU employers with part-time positions
to start advertising jobs.

"A lot of incoming students go online to look for jobs
while they're attending orientation sessions here in June and
July," Eskro explains. "In addition, University units
won't be able to hire as many students right before the fall
semester as they have in the past because budget constraints
have forced us to cancel our Student Employment Fair in late
August."

BroncoJOBS benefits both employers and students, Eskro adds.
For instance, units that hire students part time can use the
site to post job openings and descriptions while students can
use it to post resumes, sign up for interviews and conduct job
searches.

Eskro also notes that BroncoJOBS is one of WMU's most often
visited Web sites, yet many more off-campus employers use it
as a resource than do on-campus employers.

"Students aren't promised jobs when they attend WMU,
but we should give them as many opportunities to apply for jobs
online and in person as we can," Eskro says. "Instead
of publicizing on-campus jobs just through methods like word
of mouth, we want to take the higher road. There's a large gap
right now between how many positions are open and how many of
these positions are posted with us."

That means students do not get an accurate impression of the
actual number of jobs available on campus or how often they open
up. In reality, Eskro says, WMU annually employs more than 4,000
part-time student workers, and about one-half to two-thirds of
part-time student positions turn over every year.

Employers wishing to advertise positions through BroncoJOBS
should call CSES at (269) 387-2725. They can either e-mail their
openings and job descriptions to CSES and have CSES post the
information, or they can request a username and password and
post their jobs themselves.

Eskro says CSES welcomes job postings year round, but recommends
making arrangements to post fall openings no later than the first
week of August. He also suggests that jobs be listed for at least
seven business days each time they become vacant.

Using BroncoJOBS to maintain an ongoing relationship with
potential student workers creates and institutional culture that
benefits the entire University community, Eskro emphasizes.

"Units that advertise their positions on our Web site
demonstrate that WMU values part-time work as much as other kinds
of employment," he says. "They also model excellent
employment policies because we apply the same equal opportunity
and fairness standards that the University applies when hiring
full-time workers."